BACK TO THE FUTURE… MENUS

 In almost every North American city, there is a growing movement supporting local foods. What started in the 60’s with hippies searching for simpler ways to live, has resurfaced as new thought related to sustainability, concern for the environment and the local economy. Maybe because we have circled the globe and can order foods from any where in the world in ethnic restaurants, or find what were once exotic ingredients in almost every savvy supermarket, we are ready to look to our own farms and back yard gardens again.  It seems our planet is getting smaller, our environment is getting weaker, fuel is getting precious and things are getting expensive. Time for a change.  How about one that makes sense: growing your own food. That’s how it was done once upon a time. Gardens were plentiful and markets were buzzing. The food tasted better and nutritionally it was good for you. Food transportation, early picking, pesticides and other chemicals are all turn-offs. Instead people are choosing foods grown close to home and fresh, organic and innovative, ingredients like cold pressed canola oil to  grass fed animals, heirloom chickens and vegetables. Leading us back to the future are our chefs like Scott Pohorelic of River Café on Calgary’s Princess Island Park . It’s here that Scott walks and talks the local food movement with passion. He intentionally seeks out small producers who grow/produce their items with the same love he uses to cook them. Through the years he has cultivated meaningful relationships with the suppliers who make up his menus: grass fed bison, cold pressed canola oil, red fife wheat.

The work atmosphere in his kitchen is in harmony with the culture of respect for earth, food and spirit.  Scott’s commitment to slow food runs from the roots of his staff into the spirit of River Café. That is what truly  sets this restaurant apart. For his menus he has personally sourced out his suppliers from local farmer markets and nearby producers over the years. He teams up with them by showcasing and promoting the products they produce spreading the excitement about their quality and the fact the food is the product of nearby soil.

It’s a concept that his staff has embraced. Everyone is mindful of the work freshness takes and proud of the results they produce. Scott invites staff members to come with him as he visits the organic bison ranch, or where the canola oil the restaurant uses is cold pressed. In addition, members of his staff spend a paid day working with the organic farm that supplies his summer produce. Scott says that each one comes back changed. The experience to work the earth and care for the produce that comes to your restaurant to be shaped into menu items creates a bond, a completion of a new understanding about food. This is where the art starts. A connection to the creation…passion takes over from there.

River Café, Princess Island Park , Calgary Alberta